Priest Arrested For Drug Trafficking

One priest succumbed to the temptation of drug money and is paying the price after being arrested. The Orthodox Christian Church of Cyprus said Friday that it is “deeply distressed” over the arrest of a parish priest on suspicion of trafficking drugs to the island from abroad.

The Church said in a statement that the “abhorrent actions” of Father Panayiotis Triantafyllou, a Greek national who had been in charge of a suburban Nicosia parish, have scandalized the faithful and constitute a “black spot” on the Church body.

It said Triantafyllou had already been suspended from his duties and that his arrest pre-empted an ongoing Church investigation into his conduct following a litany of complaints against him “regarding a variety of offenses.”

Police arrested the 38-year-old priest at Cyprus’ main Larnaca airport late Wednesday after discovering three kilograms of marijuana in his luggage. Triantafyllou had arrived on a flight from Greece. Get the rest of the story here.